Abstract

The correct formula of the thermal focal length in a side-pumped Nd:YAG laser rod is discussed and confirmed by experimental results. It is shown that thermally induced stresses that cause a distortion of flatness occur within the region of the whole rod. The presented calculations are in agreement with the experimental observations. The results reveal that the temperature-dependent variation of the refractive index and the distortion caused by the thermally induced stresses constitute the major contributions to thermal lensing.